By MIKE KESSINGER

South Gray Girls

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mkessinger@gctelegram.com

HAYS -- The chance of a comeback seemed to wither before their eyes.

Forget the South Gray girls had found some offensive momentum to start the second half, Weskan was doing the same thing on its side. The Lady Rebels just couldn't catch the break needed as Weskan led by 14 with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

Then, Rebels head coach LaTasha Trundle called a timeout.

"I just said 'you have to pull your boots up,'" Trundle said of what she talked about in the timeout. "'It's time to go to work now. I mean, enough is enough. You have to dig down somewhere in your heart where you want it -- want it more than they do'-- and they did."

Following the 10-6 run Weskan started to open the second half, the Rebels defense toughened and the offense rolled. By the time it was finished, South Gray was celebrating its first girls state basketball title in school history with a 61-47 win. It was the South Gray girls first trip to state.

"We just had determination," freshman point guard Mikayla Skidmore said. "We put everything it to it, our hearts. We were just trying to get each other going. It was just an exciting moment. There's no words to describe how we feel."

In a moment that could have turned to complete panic for South Gray, the Rebels refused to go down. The only other time the Rebels had been down by as much as 14 was at the Bluejay Invitational in Cimarron in December, when South Gray was handed its lone loss to Cimarron.

With a freshman's leadership guiding the way, the Rebels would not have to worry about a second loss at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

"She's just a freshman for God's sake," Trundle said of Skidmore. "She just stepped up and just totally took the leadership role. All season long our theme is 'I will not let you fail.' (Skidmore) just responded to that. She was a true champion today."

After a rough two-day stretch in the first round and semifinals for Skidmore, the point guard could have cared less about her individual performance. It was all about the Rebels' success.

"I knew my night would come," Skidmore said. "The first game was a little rough, but as a team we really pulled through. That's all I'm really worried about, our team play. Individually. I don't really care."

Skidmore started South Gray's comeback with a steal and layup. She stole it again and hit two free throws after being fouled on the sequence. Skidmore then got another steal and layup that was converted into a three-point trip as she was fouled and converted the free throw. In a three minute span, Skidmore had almost single-handedly pulled South Gray within three points. The Rebels' Kayla Thomas made it a 42-41 deficit with a layup before Weskan scored again on a Payton Walker putback.

"I never expected to win a state championship in basketball," said Taylor Kinnamon, one of South Gray's two seniors. "It was never a thought it my mind. This year we just stepped up and pushed through it. It's really exciting."

The Rebels went into the final quarter down 47-45. In the final eight minutes, Weskan (24-4) was held scoreless. South Gray (27-1) had its way as Kelli Watts knocked down two free throws to tie the score, getting the Rebel offense started for the final run. With less than 20 seconds left, Trundle cleared the bench as any kind of comeback was far from reach. Skidmore scored the final two points at the free throw line, finishing off her 17-point game. All of the early frustration which included a Weskan 10- point lead at halftime had been wiped clean.

When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Trundle buried her head in her hands before raising them to the sky.

"I have a lot of confidence in my girls," Trundle said. "We work hard every day. If you ever go into a game doubting, you shouldn't be in this position that we're in."

Skidmore was joined in double-figures by Brigit Hesser with 15 and Thomas' 14. Hesser was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor.

Breanna Higlemann paced Weskan with 13 points. Danica Cox scored 10 for the Coyotes.

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South Gray 15 7 23 16 -- 61

Weskan 14 18 15 0 -- 47

SOUTH GRAY (27-1): Hesser 5-5 4-5 15, Skidmore 6-15 5-6 17, Kinnamon 2-6 0-0 4, Thomas 6-12 2-2 14, Blattner 2-9 1-1 5, K. Watts 2-5 2-2 6, Kisner 0-0 0-0 0, Love 0-0 0-0 0, C. Watts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals -- 23-52 14-16 61.

WESKAN (24-4): Ho. McKinney 3-4 0-0 6, Okeson 0-1 2-2 2, Walker 4-11 0-0 8, Welsh 3-11 2-2 8, Cox 5-9 0-0 10, Hi. McKinney 0-1 0-0 0, Steele 0-0 0-0 0, Hilgemann 4-10 2-2 13. Totals -- 19-47 6-6 47.

3-Point goals -- South Gray 1-9 (Hesser 1-1, Skidmore 0-3, Thomas 0-2, Blattner 0-2, K. Watts 0-1); Weskan 3-12 ( Hilgemann 3-7, Welsh 0-4, Cox 0-1).